Adam Jones on attendance: ‘It’s eerie … To the ones that come every night, Thank You with open arms’

Orioles center fielder Adam Jones was asked Wednesday about the crowds at Camden Yards this year. Attendance has been down all season – 20th in the majors – and had not picked up with the club in a pennant race.

The first two games in the key Boston Red Sox series this week drew less than 40,000 combined – and roughly 12,000 or so were Red Sox fans.

There have been a bunch of potential reasons for the dropoff, ranging from inclement weather to a late hike in ticket prices this offseason to a safety issue as part of a fallout from the Freddie Gray riots in April 2015. There’s also questions about the club’s marketing – such as the elimination of certain discount ticket nights – and the team’s uneven play, though the Orioles are still in the playoff hunt and already have won more games than last year.

Jones, the team leader and longest tenured player, hasn’t been particularly vocal on the issue. But addressed it on Wednesday.

Here’s what he said, in its entirety:

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“I think when it comes to this stuff I’ve heard many different sides of it. It’s due to school starting, weather, which is understandable, danger, which I don’t really see. I understand but I don’t necessarily see that.

As a player, we go out there busting our tails. The fans’ impact at Camden Yards it’s unbelievable. I think they know that, I think they understand that and the players understand that. Obviously, this week, and this last homestand, the last 11 games are arguably the most important games of the season.

We’ve fought our tails off for the 145 games to put ourselves into a unique situation as of September. And that’s what you say you want to play, important September baseball. Part of September baseball, especially if you’re in the heat (of the race), is fans, That’s just what it is. Every place you go the fans are gonna be there.

When we’re in Detroit, they were there for them. When we go to Boston – Boston’s one of the most desirable places to be at anyway – they’re there. I know when we go on the road in Toronto, we know they’re gonna be there. They’ve been there since basically the trade deadline last year.

I’m not going to say I’m disappointed. I’d say it’s just a little … like eerie, a little bit. We grind and grind and grind. And I understand, there’s a lot of factors into it.

Take in ticket prices being higher, although you can bring in food and beverages. You take in the marketing, promotions, I’m sure they’re not the best. I get all that.

But I’m saying the city wanted a winner. The last five years we’ve gotten a winner. I don’t know if they’ve gotten complacent already on us winning. I wish they haven’t. I hope they haven’t. But because winning is fun every single year and being in this race is exciting every single year.

To the ones that come every night, that’s been coming every night, ‘Thank You, with open arms because you don’t have to.’ And we know what you have to go through to get here. Some people commute very far. Some people live downtown, some people live in other cities. But we appreciate the support that has came through. That’s really all I got to say about that.”

Editor’s note: In Jones’ statements, he was searching for a word to perfectly describe his feelings, and I initially wrote “sad” and “eerie.” He actually said “not sad,” as in that wasn’t the perfect word. And then he settled on eerie. I didn’t hear the “not.” We regret the error.

The exact quote was: “I’m not going to say I’m disappointed. I’d say that it’s just, it’s a little, what’s the right word to say? It’s a little, you know, not sad, just, just like, eerie, a little bit. We grind and grind and grind. And I understand, there’s a lot of factors into it.

I’m one of the lucky ones that can go to a lot of games between the means and location. I live 4 miles away from Camden Yards, love the Orioles, and appreciate the relatively lower cost of tickets. Yet, going to over 30 games a year adds up in ticket costs, Uber and parking, and food, should I buy food there.

I’ll have gotten to 35 games this year and have brought my husband, family, and friends, so I am glad I can help.

I agree with AJ. I am a 13-game plan holder, and I split the tickets with someone else, so I go to 6-7 a year. That’s all I can afford. I root for the team every game, whether there or not.
But I have to admit, the O’s have done several things in recent years that haven’t helped: 1) fairly big increase in ticket prices from last year to this year (it was quite significant for me personally); 2) different prices for different games–I think if the Red Sox games were priced the same as the other games, we’d have seen better attendance this week. Also, 3) they were really late getting season ticket plans (and partial season ticket plans) out this year. I’m sure that didn’t help, combined with the ticket price increase. In addition, 4) the weather through June was really bad. Lots of wet and even cold days. Worse than normal.
I know, we raised salaries, and so increased ticket prices are the result. And I also know that our tickets are fairly cheap compared to other cities. But I do think that all of the above factors play a role. I’m disappointed just as AJ is. But since we now have a successful Washington team, that has cut into the fan base here (esp. the NoVA fans we used to get). We simply don’t have as many affluent fans in the Baltimore region. But I do think our fans are just as intense!

It’s always a tough spot to put a player in when you ask them about something they don’t have all the data or experience on to answer correctly, nor should they be expected to. It’s not their job to understand the many reasons. That’s what your front office and marketing departments are for. I was at the park Tuesday. I left work early so I could go home and let the dogs out and all that stuff and then drive 75 minutes down from Bear Delaware, like I’ve done a dozen times this year. I don’t even think about the cost of gas and tolls anymore. I enjoy the games and I wish the place was nearly packed. It would improve the experience for everyone, not just the players. Two ideas (not solutions but from my experience with Phillies games, they work), pick a Tuesday or Wednesday night every week for “$1 dog night”. Second, drop the upper deck in the OF seats to $8.